The Plant
by Ysidro
Summary: Crabbe finds an old book in class and takes it to the first person he can think of; his Head of House. Please review!


Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the Crystal of Ix is Disney's.

The Plant

By: Ysidro

Vincent Crabbe shuffled from foot to foot outside the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts' office. Every few seconds he'd risk a glance over one of his extremely broad shoulders, hoping to Merlin that no one would see him. The last thing Vince needed was to be caught by one of his peers right now.

Crabbe was currently holding a very shabby copy of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' under one of his burly arms. He had accidentally found it on one of the shelves in Potions' class, and something told him that it didn't belong to Professor Slughorn. Thus, Crabbe had set out to find his Head of House for advice.

Vincent's eyes looked down as he thought about how fascinating the play was. He had actually read the entire thing before it occurred to him that Snape might be able to help. For Muggle trash, it was really good.

Vince would be the laughing stock of the Slytherin house if anyone found out. Professor Snape would more than likely sneer at the mere thought of one of his students actually enjoying classic literature. Muggle play or not, it was great.

Vincent took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had to return this stupid bloody book, no matter how much he enjoyed it. Someone was missing it, much like he was already. Opening them again, he knocked on the door to Snape's office.

"Enter," drawled the voice of Slytherin's Head of House.

"Uhh…it's Crabbe professor," Vince said, keeping with the incompetent lackey routine. He approached his teacher's desk hesitantly. "I gotta talk to you."

Professor Snape was seated at his new desk in a high-back chair. A large pile of parchment was piled on his desk under a multi- coloured paper weight that seemed to be some sort of crystal. It shone with all the colours of the rainbow, and, like most dumb animals, Crabbe was drawn to it.

"What's this Professor?" Vince said, picking up the weight and tossing it in the air. "It's pretty."

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Snape bellowed; dropping his quill, swiping the crystal in mid-air, and replacing it on the desk, all in one swift motion.

"S…sorry Professor," Crabbe managed to stammer. "I just thought it looked pretty."

"Pretty?" Snape sneered as he looked at Crabbe with empty black eyes. "Well, that 'pretty' paperweight could trap your wand or any other magical item in its depths within seconds. The Crystal of Ix is extremely rare and dangerous if left in the wrong hands."

"I'm sorry Proffessor Snape," he repeated, not knowing what to say. That tended to happen quite frequently.

"Didn't your parents teach you not to touch things that aren't yours?" Snape queried, raising an eyebrow. He then shook his head in exasperation and went back to marking. "Now, was there anything else you wanted to do besides attempting to damage a precious artifact?"

"Um…yeah," Crabbe said, taking the shabby book out from under his arm. "I found this a couple of days ago in Potions, and didn't know what to do with it."

Snape's glaze flickered up from his marking for a moment, and then he continued on scribbling. "Considering the fact that it is a book, one would generally read it Mr. Crabbe."

"I did Sir," Crabbe said, making his teacher jolt in shock. "It's a play Prof. Snape."

"Let me look at that," Snape said, taking the book out of Vince's hands.

Snape turned the play around and around in his hands, surveying it from all angles. Crabbe watched in anticipation, waiting to see if Snape could help. A hint of a smirk played on Snape's lips as he handed 'Macbeth' back to a startled Crabbe.

"I see that someone has finally found my plant," he said softly. "Took you long enough."

"Uhhh…this isn't a plant Professor," Crabbe said softly as he looked at the play closer. "I'm pretty sure it's a book Sir."

"I'll put it in Laymen's terms for you Crabbe," Snape sneered. "I put that play on the Potions' shelves when I started teaching here. I wanted to see if anyone would actually read it. Tell me Mr. Crabbe, did you enjoy it?"

"It was brilliant Sir!" Crabbe was beaming broadly. "I couldn't put it down! Wish we could learn more about it here."

"Well, if you enjoyed it so much, that copy's yours," Snape replied. "I have my own copy and am in no need of another."

"Thank you Professor Snape!" Crabbe actually looked like an intelligent being to Snape for the first time in his life. Then Crabbe's face fell. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Your secret's safe with me."

Crabbe was practically skipping as he exited the office. He only allowed this for a few moments however, since one of Draco's cronies could not be seen skipping. He shoved the play in his satchel, determined to find more of these plays.

Inside his office, Snape continued to mark the poorly done essays on his desk. He chuckled to himself at the thought of Vincent's father getting wind of his son's fascination. It would be a complete nightmare, the thought of a Death Eater's son actually reading Shakespeare.

"Come to think of it," Snape mumbled to the Crystal of Ix on his desk. "The poor man would probably die knowing his son could read."


End file.
